Trap



July 18,l 1944.A 'F'. 'DOVERSPIKEv TRAP TraH/vfy Filed oct. 5, 1943 :Inf

`Patented July 18, 1944 UNI'IED STATES PATENT "0 FFICE Franknor'erspike, Washington, D. o. v Applicationoctbber 5, 194s,v seriarNo. 505,073;

4 Claims.

The inventionv here disclosed relates, to traps, particularly for catching rats and miceand is in the nature of an improvement on thetr-ap-coveI-'ed in the Doverspike Patent 2,304,555 of December 8, 1942.

Inthe patent referred to, a spring jaw is provided having a coil portion located in a channel at the foot of an upright attached toa base and this springjaw is held open by a detent mounted on the upright and held by a trigger which is releasable by a pan or platform overstanding the base. A safety catch is provided to prevent accidental release of thedetent.

The present inventionrelates to improvements in the attachment of the upright to thebaseLthe e mounting ofthe spring jaw, the trigger and safety catch construction and adaptation of the spring jaw to insurelcatchingv of either larger or smaller size animals.

Objects of the invention areto facilitateassembly, reduce the cost of parts, provide a stronger and more rugged construction, to enable easy and quick changeover from the active ltothe safety position and to insure that. in lchanging over from safety to active condition, the trapgvvillnotbe` ac cidently sprung. l n

Various other objects and desirable. resultsactually accomplished by the invention will appear in the course of the following specification. Y `The drawing accompanying and forming part of thespecification.illustrates apresent practical commercial embodiment of the invention,v Structure however may be modied and changed with? in the true intent and broad scope of Vthe invention, all as hereinafter defined and. broadly claimed.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing the trap in set condition, this view'being taken asvon substantially the plane of line I--I eof'Fig. 2.,

Figs. 2 and 3 are/back views, i1lustratingrespec tively the safetyand the activevpositions of the detent and trigger.

Fig.. 4 is a top plan view of the trap in sprung condition.

Figs, 5 and 6 are enlarged broken cross-sectional details on substantially the planes of lines 5-5 and 6-6 of Figs. 2 and 3 respectively.

Fig. 7 is a broken sectional detail of the trigger and detent in the holding and tripped relations.

Fig. 8 is a. broken sectional detail illustrating the trigger in the active and safety positions, this cial-'features of it are, an angularlyv bent bottom flange |21, and spaced. above .that in parallel relation,. angularly bent. straps I3', engaged over the bottom and. the top of the base andv secured in such fashion by rivets or other. through fastenings It,V The strapsfl 3. are shown in Fig..2 as produced by cutting out integralstrip portions `of the upright and bending them forward, 'thus leaving the openings I5. Secured by fastenings I4, the angularly bent portions I2 ,and I3, formin effect a clamp construction rigidly securing the upright braced in upstanding relation at the end of the base and it will be noted in Figs. 1 and 4,1that this `clamp construction is secured tothe base in a manner to offset. the upright away from the end of the Vbase, toleave a space or channel I6, extending across the end of the base, 'at the foot of the upright.

The purpose ofthe transverse ,channel I6, is to provide a seat and holder for vthe coil portions I'I of the springjawan'd'which are shown located in said channel between the end of the base, the opposing portion ofthe upright wall, the bottom flange I2,4 andthe topV straps I3'- These parts securely conn'e the coils Without'restricting or interfering with their. spring action. The ends of the coils are shown projected beneath the base at I8, where' they areA held'by the bottom flange I2, and the loop or bail portion I9; connectingjthe coils, forms the'jaw ofthe trap-l e They detent for holdingv the jaw in open position is shown as a lever 20; having a loop'ZI, pivotally passed through an opening'22,` near the top ofthe .upright and .terminating in a forwardlyprojecting angled: end 2 3','formin'g1a, catch` engageable inside the bail whenthe latterhas' been raised to the upright positionV indicated in Fig. l'. Thel detent leverk 'thus -is supported to hang down over the back of; the upright II', into position where its lower end' can be caught Vby the trigger `hook 24:',projecting'from theA trip pan'or platform 25. Thejlatter as indicated in Fig. 1, is shown; as rhaving- 'a' downwardly angled edge 26, resting on thebase'; theplatformbeing confined in thislooselypivotedfrelation on the-base-bypins or brads 21, passing freely through openings provided in the plate 25.

To enable the trigger being utilized for safety catch purposes, it is shown as pivotally secured on the platform by a rivet or equivalent fastening 28, and as adapted therefore to be shifted from a position in line with the vertical portion 29, of an inverted L-shaped slot in the back, into line with the upper horizontally extending portion 30, where it will be supported against any releasing movement.

Figs. 2 and 5, show the lower end of the detent lever 20, caught and held by the trigger lever 24, and the latter shifted over into position above the lateral supporting shoulder provided by the horizontally extending portion of the slot. In such position, it is impossible to release the detent by downward pressure on the platform and the trap may then be safely handled and shifted about to locate it in the most favorable position.

To set the trigger inA active position, that is, over the vertically extending portion 29, of the slot, a special setting lever is provided, indicated at 3I, pivotally hung on the back at 32, and extending down past the end of the safety shoulder` at 30, so that it may be swung to push the trigwith the platform for lateral adjustment, a supporting shoulder on the upright engageable by said trigger in one laterally shifted position of the same and a setting lever pivoted on the upright and having a cam portion engageable be- 'said upright, a detent on said upright for releasger from over this shoulder intolposition. above the Vertical portion of the slot-that is, to shift the trigger from the dottedline to the full liner position, Fig. 8. i

To avoid the possibility of accidental release when shifting the trigger'oi the safety shoulder, the swinging lever is shown as having a bent lower end 33, inclined to effect a lifting engagement with the trigger, as said lever is swung over from the Fig. 2 to the Fig. 3 position. This incline thus serves as a cam,'lifting and Ysupporting the trigger while being shifted from the safety to the release position.

To adapt the trap to catching both ratsV and mice, the loop portion of the jaw is shown as having an intermediate cross" bar 34, connecting the sides of the bail and in line with across depression 35, in the pan.l

The parts are simple, strong and few and they can be easily assembled; YAfter tacking the trip pan in position over the'base and locating the spring coils at the end of the base, with the jaw portion I9, extending over and the end portions I8 beneath the base, the upright'or back wall II may beslipped into position over the coils and the parts I2, I3, riveted together, through the base. `Secured in this manner, the back wall is braced and rigidly held tothe base. It is contemplated 'also that theentire frame may be molded in plastic. y Y

vThe trap may be set with 'themovable trigger portion in position over the safety shoulder and then when it isready for action, the trigger can be shifted from the safety position into the active relation, through the agency of the setting lever without danger of accidently springing the trap.

What is claimed is:

1. A trap comprising a base, an upright having angularly extending' substantially parallel projections engaged over one end of and secured to the base with space V,between said end of the base and the upright, a spring jaw having a coil portion located in said space between said angularly extending projecting portions of the upright, a trip platform pivotally supported on the base, a trigger extending from said platform through the upright, and a detent for said spring jaw mounted on the upright and engaged bysaid trigger, said vtrigger being v pivotally connected ably holding said bail in upraised relation, a

i platform pivotally mounted on the base, a trigger pivotally `connected with said platform and projecting through the upright into position for holding engagement with said detent, a supporting shoulder on the upright for preventing releasing movement of said trigger and a setting lever pivoted on the upright for shifting said trigger laterally from supported relation vover said shoulder. I Y

3. A trap comprising a base, an upright support at one end of the same, a spring jaw supported at the foot of said upright and having a bail portion adapted to be raised to the top of said upright, a detent on said upright for releasably holding said bail in upraised relation, a platform pivotally mounted on the base, a trigger pivotally connected with said, platform and projecting through the upright into position for holding engagement with said detent, a supporting shoulderon the upright for preventing releasing movement of said trigger, a setting lever pivoted on the upright for shifting said trigger laterally from supported Arelation over said shoulder, said lever having a cam portion for supporting said trigger during said shifting movement of the same. I

4. A trap comprising a generally horizontal base, an upright of sheet material at one end of the same, said'upright having an angularly bent bottom flange extended beneath the base and an integral portion above said bottom fiange bent out at an angle and extended inwardly over the top of thel base, fastenings extending through said base and throughY said ange and integral portion disposed below and over the top of the base and thereby rigidly ysecuring said lupright in upstanding relation at the end of the base, a spring jaw having a coil portion disposed at the endofsaid base and confined between said bottom ange and said inwardly extending portion of the'upright and whereby said spring jawis held against displacement, said spring jaw hav ing a bale portion adapted to be raised to-the top ofthe upright, a detent for said bale por-4 tion'mounted on the upright, a trigger for holding said detent and means on the base Aforeffecting release of said trigger from holding engagement with said detent.

FRANK DOVERSPIKE. 

